Friday, December 9, 2016

Final Assignment Anthology

Throughout the semester in “Food, Feelings & Film”, I was able to develop my skills as a writer by experimenting with different styles and genres of writing. Our blog post assignments ranged from personal anecdotes to ethnography's, film voiceovers along with variety of other genres. The theme of the posts encompassed aspects of all three themes in the title of the course, “Food, Feelings & Film.”  I was able to practice writing each style, and pinpoint which genres I was stronger at writing, and which ones had room for development. 

Writing these blog posts gave me an opportunity to explore myself as a writer through various techniques and genres. Not only was I able to attempt new styles of writing that I hadn’t come across before, I was also able to practice styles I was familiar with, so that I could perform well when It came to letter grade assignments

For my anthology I decided to include pieces from a wide range of genres, to properly feature the various types of writing I worked on throughout the course. One piece I chose to revise and further develop was my emulation of Lily Wong’s piece “Eating the Hyphen” titled, “Gai Daan Jai”. Other pieces include my “Eat Drink Man Woman Voiceover”, my ethnography called “Cox Food Hall”, one of my more creative pieces “I Want to go Home Kong Pie”, and my explanation of “The Cookie” by Marcel Proust. I chose to include these posts in chronological order to clearly show the development of my writing from the beginning of the semester to the end of the semester. 

Gai Daan Jai


Eat Drink Man Woman Voiceover


Cox Food Hall


I Want to go Home Kong Pie


The Cookie - Marcel Proust


Through the experience of blogging during the duration of the semester, I was able to clearly understand and apply the course’s key terms, such as genre and audience. We learnt that, Every writer has an audience. Whether their audience is a friend, family member, professor, strange or even their self, every writer has an audience. Every writer also has a genre. Whether they intend to or not, each different style of writing can be considered a genre, including poetry, personal narratives, letters, academic essays etc... Both the terms "audience" and "genre" can be applied to various aspects of life. Each of the post I chose to revise were different genres, and were all targeted at different audiences.

 For example, “Gai Daan Jai”, a piece about a childhood comfort food, is targeted at people who are interested in learning about traditional Hong Kong cuisine, or are able to relate/have similar memories growing up in Hong Kong. As the piece is written in a more informal tone it is targeted at an audience that is looking for more of  a “quick/fun read” as a opposed to an informative essay. My ethnography on Cox Food Hall on the other hand is more informative and observational, which could come of as academic and appeal to an audience who is more focused on gaining information rather than vivid imagery. 

These posts related to the course’s learning objectives in numerous ways. “I Want to go Home Kong Pie” was a piece that allowed me to write expressively, while other pieces required me to write more academically. I also learnt how to write in multiple stages, beginning with a first draft, and ending with a more finalized draft that always has room for improvement. I learnt that revising drafts is something I quite enjoy, and that it was fun for me to play around with my sentences and create new combinations of ways to say the same thing. Which is why I would always end up starting my writing process by very roughly writing down my thoughts in a basic outline, and then filling in the gaps and rewording to complete the piece. 

From revising I noticed a lot of my errors are grammatical, while some of them were issues with the style of the piece. For example in my first draft of my emulation of Lily Wong’s, “Eating the Hyphen” I failed to include specific characteristics of her writing such as a dictionary definition, and a procedure of how to eat the food item. Instead I focused mainly on imagery, which failed to meet the criteria of the piece. When going back and revising I managed to change the piece from they very first sentence, and make it more like Wong’s piece. I originally opened with, “One does not go about their day in the city of Hong Kong without coming across some Gai Daan Jai.”, but when revising I made the addition of the dictionary definition, “As defined by the Oxford Dictionary, a waffle is defined as, "a small crisp batter cake, baked in a waffle iron and eaten hot with butter or syrup". However, these aren't the waffles I am talking about. They may be golden, butter coated, and crisp, but thats where the similarities end. Round, melt in your mouth, 'Hong Kong-ese' Gai Daan Jai; now those are the type of waffles I'm talking about.”

From exploring multiple genres of writing I noticed that I was a much stronger writer when it came to writing creative pieces as opposed to more structural pieces such as the “Cox Food Hall” ethnography. I really struggled in making this piece strictly observational, and non biased. I originally ended the piece by stating “When asked why she enjoys Cox Food Hall, Victoria Murra responded with, “What’s not to like? I’ve finally found some edible food on this campus!” Hence explaining why she too has finished her Dooley Dollars.”  I then revised the ending to make it more formal “ When talking to first year, Victoria Murra, it came to my attention that another reason Cox Food Hall is so popular on campus, is because of the wide variety of cuisines. When asked why she enjoys Cox Food Hall, Victoria Murra responded with, “What’s not to like? I’ve finally found some edible food on this campus!””


While I feel I have grown as a writer throughout the course, I understand that there is still more room to grow, and more genres to explore writing and will keep doing so till I find one that is perfect for me.

The Cookie - Marcel Proust (Revised)

The excerpt, "The Cookie", from Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past, is a piece that explores a man's journey down memory lane, trying to pinpoint the time in his life where he first tried the madeline that was causing him such pleasure. "Whence could it have come to me, this all-powerful joy? I sensed that it was connected with the taste of the tea and the cake, but that it infinitely transcended those savours, could, no, indeed, be of the same nature. Whence did it come? What did it mean? How could I seize and apprehend it?" 


It all began when he accepted tea from his mother which he normally does not, and dips the madeline into the tea, which causes him deep pleasure."An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses, something isolated, detached, with no suggestion of its origin." He finally remembers that the first time he has tried a madeline was with his aunt when he was a child. "And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray (because on those mornings I did not go out before mass), when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom , my aunt LĂ©onie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane. " He goes on to explain how the memories he is experiencing last forever because of the sensory details he experience during the time the memory was made such as taste and smell.

I can relate to what Proust is saying in his piece about food being able to tie you to memories from your past, and people often vividly remembering specific moments due to the feelings they were experiencing or food they were eating. This can be seen in people who eat comfort foods and how it brings them back to a time where they were calm and comfortable. 

An example of a similar experience I have with food can be seen in my memories with Marks and Spencers Chocolate Viennese Sandwiches. Growing up in both Hong Kong and London, Marks and Spencers was a big part of my childhood. After coming home from a long day of school I would run straight to the kitchen and grab a handful of these biscuits and run before my mum could scold me for taking more than my share. On weekend mornings, while my mum was having her cup of tea I would grab a couple of her biscuits and dunk them in her tea, waiting as the chocolate melted and became gooey, before proceeding to eat it. Nowadays when I think of Marks and Spencers Chocolate Viennese Sandwiches I am remembered to my childhood memories. Similar to Proust this food is linked  with specific memories of mine forever. 

Cox Food Hall (Revised)

aIt was 12:45 pm on a Tuesday and I had 10 minutes to grab a bite before my class at 1. I ran down the steps to Cox Food Hall, pushing past the crowd and through the glass doors, staring at the number of people before me.  I remember thinking to myself, 'there is no way I'm going to make it to class on time'. Quickly scanning the room, I adsorbed the various cuisines surrounding me. Indian, Mexican, Italian, Asian - I knew I wanted Asian. 


I worked my way through the sea of people and up to the asian counter, Maru. There was no clear definition of where the line for Maru ended and the line for the next vendor began. I slyly joined a random part of the line hoping no one around me would notice. To my surprise, the line moved quite quickly, making me wait less than 5 minutes for the 10 people in front of me.

When I got to the counter I was immeadiatley consumed by the numerous options, white rice, brown rice, teriyaki chicken, ginger chicken, beef, tofu - the works. There was an option for the customer to choose between white rice and brown rice for their bowl. I decided to go with white rice and top it off with stir fried vegetables and kimchi. Because of my indecisiveness I ended up hboth teriyaki and ginger chicken as my meat choices, drizzled with teriyaki sauce. The woman graciously smiled as she handed me my bowl and a pair of chopsticks, and I thanked her and wished her well for the remainder of her day.

I headed to the counter to pay for my meal. While in the line I was able to full absorb the beauty of Cox Food Hall. The large glass windows let in healthy amounts of natural lighting. The ceiling supports dangling decorations that add color to the room. The layout of centered tables surrounded by vendors on all sides resembles the layout of a mall food court. I checked my watch, 4 minutes till my class started. At last, it was my turn to pay, the lady grumpily greeted me and asked my if I was paying with Dooley Dollars. I responded with Dooley and struggled to swipe my card as I was in a hurry. Once the payment went through I thanked the lady who grouchily responded to my gratitude with, “Next!” 

Judging by the crowd at Cox Food Hall, I am not alone in saying it was definitely worth going back for, the food was satisfying and catered to my Asian food cravings. So much so, that I, along with other freshman, have already finished my Dooley Dollars. When talking to first year, Victoria Murra, it came to my attention that another reason Cox Food Hall is so popular on campus, is because of the wide variety of cuisines. When asked why she enjoys Cox Food Hall, Victoria Murra responded with, “What’s not to like? I’ve finally found some edible food on this campus!” 

Gai Daan Jai (Revised)

As defined by the Oxford Dictionary, a waffle is defined as, "a small crisp batter cake, baked in a waffle iron and eaten hot with butter or syrup". However, these aren't the waffles I am talking about. They may be golden, butter coated, and crisp, but thats where the similarities end. Round, melt in your mouth, 'Hong Kong-ese' Gai Daan Jai; now those are the type of waffles I'm talking about.  

One does not go about their day in the city of Hong Kong without coming across some Gai Daan Jai. The sweet aroma drifts through the streets, making its way to individual’s noses. The stall owners watch as crowds walk by, calling out to them different deals, negotiating prices. Once they’ve finally grabbed your attention by waving waffles in your face, shop owners say those 3 magical words, “we make fresh”. Those three little words is what gets me every time, because thats the best way to have them, fresh off the hot griddle.

Traditionally there was one flavor, original, but stall keepers have been keeping up with the trends, offering versions with various fillings. Red bean, green tea, custard, and even chocolate chips - they have it all!

Its as if each time is my first, I stand and wait excitedly, watching as buttery clouds escape from the gap between the two hot plates. The stall keeper will slowly open the pan to check on the waffles, and I follow by tiptoeing over the edge of the stall trying to eye the perfectly golden brown semi-spheres. I watch as the crisp edges are pulled off the pan and rolled into a cone-like formation. “Condensed milk? Peanut butter?” the stall keeper questions raising a knife to my perfection. I quickly shake my head and thank them as they hand me my Gai Daan Jai, egg waffles. 

Theres nothing that kills me more than watching some one bite right into their egg waffles, unevenly breaking through multiple bubbles. Theres a reason they are in bubbles, one is meant to start off by peeling a singular bubble off, and savouring the sweet-eggy taste in their mouth, before moving on to the next bubble and reliving the whole experience. 

People always compliment my “adventurous” taste in food, complimenting me on my ability to eat local street food. But Gai Daan Jai is more than street food to me, each individual bubble embodies parts of my childhood. What people fail to realize is that I am not some foreigner venturing out and trying “Hong Kong-ese” street food. I am local, I am “Hong Kong -ese”, and Gai Daan Jai is my favorite food.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

I Want to go Home Kong Pie (Revised)

It has been 4 months since I have last seen my family, and it has hit that point in the semester where I want nothing more than to go home to Hong Kong. 

"I want to go Home Kong Pie" is going to encompass a sense of comfort as well as curb ones craving for some traditional Hong Kong cuisine. 

The pan is going to be lined with a thick and crunchy graham cracker crust. It will be filled with a rich chocolatey and fudgey filling, and topped with a lattice of traditional Hong Kong styled circular egg waffles. 

The pie's chocolate filling is the perfect source of comfort  for chocolate lovers to turn to in their times of need. The egg waffles on the other hand bring a bit of Hong Kong essence to the pie, as egg waffles are one of Hong Kong's traditional desserts.